Finance Assistant

Pakistan

UNOPS has been supporting projects in Pakistan for more than 15 years and in 2010 opened a new office in Islamabad to support the post-flood relief and recovery effort.

UNOPS in Pakistan implements projects in the following thematic areas:

• Early recovery and reconstruction of community infrastructure
• Project management and related monitoring and verification
• Community development
• Gender justice and women's empowerment
• Procurement

UNOPS commenced operations in Pakistan in 1999 and significantly up-scaled activities from 2005 onwards to support populations affected by and vulnerable to earthquakes. In 2010, UNOPS opened a permanent office in Islamabad to support the Government of Pakistan and other partners to undertake humanitarian and reconstruction services, following the most devastating flood in the nation’s history.

UNOPS Pakistan has been implementing projects in the areas of early recovery and reconstruction of community infrastructure, project management and related monitoring and verification, community development, fund management, and procurement. Supported strategically by a regional operational hub and UNOPS headquarters in Copenhagen and within the overarching framework of the ONE UN Programme, UNOPS Pakistan continues to deliver projects across the country under its core delivery practices of sustainable infrastructure, sustainable procurement, and sustainable project management.

UNOPS is based in Islamabad and has a provincial office in Peshawar. In addition, UNOPS is administrating Global Environment Facility (GEF) small grants on behalf of UNDP to support community led projects in Baluchistan. Similarly, UNOPS is also acting as the Local Fund Agent of the Global Fund. In Pakistan, UNOPS monitors a grant portfolio of $600,000,000 by undertaking regular and mandatory field visits across the country including FATA to provide independent monitoring of the activities carried out by the grantees of the Global Fund.

UNOPS in Pakistan has signed a contract with International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) for construction of women hostels. The project title is “Infrastructure for Enhancement of Gender Equality and Rule of Law in Pakistan”. This project will be implemented with 2 Police forces in Pakistan namely Sindh Police and National Highways and Motorway Police (NH&MP). The total project duration is 36 months. The beneficiaries will be female trainees recruited to Sindh Police and NH&MP and women at large through greater access to rule of law.

The Finance Assistant works under the overall guidance and supervision of the Project Manager and in close consultation with Sri Lanka Operations Centre Finance Unit. The Finance Assistant will perform the following duties and responsibilities, but not limited to:

•   Preparing internal project budget for project related activities in consultation with the project manager and Sri Lanka Operations Centre Finance Manager.

•   Proper raising of purchase orders; getting approval providing precise and accurate GL analysis for generating PO’s.

•   Processing Invoices, Interim Payment Certificates and Financial Claims, receiving complete documents from procurement section of payment review and check the amount to be accurate and make sure there is consistency in amount in all supporting documents.

•   Maintain all payments tracking sheets for quick cross check of payments relating dates, suppliers, amount and any other necessary information.

•   Management of the Petty Cash account with proper documentation and tractable records

•   To ensure all payments are complying with UNOPS finance , procurement  and HR rules and regulation and in case of any deviation report to his/her supervisor for necessary correction or action.

•   To monitor and ensure the proper procedure of procurements of goods and services has been followed and all transactions are backed up by supporting documents.

•   Track & monitor progress of Procurement and HR department for timely closure and amendments of POs as per the budget availability.

•    Ensuring to avoid any omission while processing any payments to avoid any delay which will adversely affect project delivery in accordance with UNOPS policies, particularly UNOPS Financial rules and regulation

•   Assists the project manager in preparation of any kind of reports as assigned to him/her.

•   Proper follow up of all tax paid with UNOPS Finance, banks and maintain a well-developed records of all tax paid.

•   To maintain a proper and organized filing system and to ensure project’s all financial documents are easily traceable whenever needed.

•   Assist the concerned department in preparation of payment certificate, tax calculation and submission of payment requests to Sri Lanka finance section and to make sure the payments have been done. Maintain an appropriate follow up system to make sure payments are completed.

•   Preparation of Operational Advances for project missions and other purposes, make sure the OA are cleared before its maturity period.

•   Assist with travel arrangements and processing of travel claims.

•   To ensure that strict internal control system is in place, Finance policies and procedures are being followed, the control system is effective, and the accounting system is reliable to achieve the dual aspect of project finance objective i.e. transparency and accountability.

•   To be able to meet any deadlines and work under pressures.

•   Any other task assigned by his/her supervisors.

•   Ability to perform a variety of standard tasks related to financial resources management, including screening and collecting documentation, financial data processing, filing, provision of information

•   Good knowledge of UNOPS financial rules and regulations, accounting is desired

•  Ability to interact and communicate within a team and with clients

•   Strong IT skills

•   Ability to adhere to work assignments and meet designated deadlines.

•   Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback

•  Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude

•   Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure

•  Secondary Education is required. Bachelor degree in Finance, business administration, economics, accounting or relevant field is considered an asset. 

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in an Accounting and Finance capacity.

• Excellent knowledge of both written and oral English is required

• Fluency in Pashtu is desirable

•   Relevant professional Finance/Accounting certificates considered an asset

Contract type: ICA
Contract level: Local ICA Support
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS. 
• This is a local post and open to Pakistan nationals only.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.